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Indicator Assessment
All EU Member States are to achieve a 10 % share in renewable energy by 2020 for all transport options. Individual Member States progress towards this
target varies. As a reference, the average share of renewable energy across the EU‑28 consumed in transport between 2010 and 2011 increased from 3.5 % to 3.8 %. These figures include only those biofuels which met the sustainability criteria.
In 2011 EUROSTAT has for the first time published the share of biofuels in transport energy use which meet the sustainability criteria of the Renewables Directive (Art. 17 & Art. 18, 2009/28/EC). The data shows that in 2011 3.8% of the energy consumed in transport was renewable, most of it from biofuels meeting the sustainability criteria. Most Member States require significant further increases in order to reach the Directive’s target for a 10% share of renewable energy in transport by 2020.
In 2011, the unweighted average EU-27 sulphur content was 5.7 ppm for petrol, and 7.0 ppm for diesel. An EU specification came into force on 1 January 2009, which limits the sulphur content of all automotive road fuels to a maximum of 10 ppm. Reductions in the sulphur content of fuels are expected to have a large impact on exhaust emissions as they will enable the introduction of more sophisticated after-treatment systems.
The EU Biofuels Directive has created a favourable legislative framework in most Member States and has therefore triggered rapid market implementation of biofuels. The share of biofuels in the EU-28 in 2010 was 4.6 % of all petrol and diesel sold for transport purposes, still somewhat below the original policy objective under Directive 2003/30/EC to reach 5.75 % by the end of 2010.
These targets were subsequently revised following the adoption of Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. All Member States have set national targets detailing how they propose to comply with the overall target of a 10 % share of renewable energy supply in the transport sector by 2020, where only biofuels complying with the sustainability criteria under the RED are to be counted towards this target. Accordingly, the most recent data show that in 2011 only 3.8 % of the energy consumed in transport is renewable, when including only those biofuels which met the sustainability criteria (an increase of 9.8% compared to 2010, when also applying these criteria).
An EU specification came into force on 1 January 2009, which limits the sulphur content of all automotive road fuels to a maximum of 10 ppm. While in 2009 and 2010 some of the EU-27’s new Member States still exceeded the limit for diesel fuels it was met by all Member States in 2011. Surprisingly, the data for 2011 show that Bulgaria breached the limit for petrol while having complied in previous years. Reductions in the sulphur content of fuels are expected to have a significant impact on exhaust emissions through facilitating the introduction of more sophisticated after-treatment systems such as diesel particulate filters, as well as improving the efficiency and durability of existing exhaust after-treatment systems.
Under the new Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (repealing two previous Directives) the share of renewable energy use in transport rises to a minimum 10 % in every Member State by 2020. The new directive on renewable energy also aims to ensure that only sustainable biofuels are used in the EU, which generate a clear and net GHG saving and have no negative impact on biodiversity and land use. Only biofuels complying with the sustainability criteria under the RED are to be counted towards this target and therefore proper monitoring is only possible from 2010. In addition, to stimulate the growth of certain shares of renewable energy sources in transport, renewable electricity in electric road vehicles is accounted for 2.5 times the energy content of the input of electricity from renewable energy sources, while the contribution of biofuels produced from wastes, residues, non-food cellulosic material, and ligno-cellulosic material is considered twice that of other biofuels. Nevertheless, the 10% target is expected to be met primarily through biofuels.
For the year 2011 EUROSTAT has for the first time published the share of biofuels in transport energy use which meet the sustainability criteria of the RED, even though the systems for certifying sustainable biofuels were not yet fully operational in a number of Member States.. The graph above shows that in 2011 only 3.8% of the energy consumed in transport is renewable, including only those biofuels meeting the sustainability criteria and has increased by 9.8% compared to 2010. The consumption of energy from renewable sources would have been much closer to the 5.75% target set in the original Biofuels Directive (2003/30/EC) when all biofuels are taken into account, as its share is 5.1% in 2011. In the previous year (2010) where biofuels were measured without sustainability criteria their share was 4.6%. This means that Member States are further away from meeting the RED target of a 10% sustainable biofuel share by 2020 than may have been anticipated from data from the past years. The difference between nominal biofuel share and biofuel share meeting the RED criteria is most notable for France, Portugal and Slovakia. Despite these countries having some of the highest biofuel shares in Europe, only a small fraction of these meet the sustainability criteria. However, the graph only shows biofuels as the share of renewable sources in the transport sector, even though other sources, especially renewable electricity, could eventually contribute.
A ratio is used to determine the share of renewable energy in transport consumption (RES-T) of a Member State. Article 3 (4) of the RES Directive defines this ratio.
The denominator of the ratio is the total amount of energy consumed in transport. This is calculated using only petrol, diesel, biofuels consumed in road and rail transport, and electricity.
The numerator of the ratio is the amount of energy from renewable sources consumed in transport. All types of energy from renewable sources consumed in all forms of transport are considered.
To calculate the numerator and the denominator of the share of RES-T, the amount of electricity produced from renewable sources and consumed in all types of electric vehicle is used. Member States may use either the average share of electricity from renewable sources in the Community, or the share of electricity from renewable energy sources in their own country, measured 2 years before the year in question. Furthermore, to calculate the amount of electricity from renewable energy sources consumed by electric road vehicles, a figure for consumption of 2.5 times the energy content of the electricity input from renewable sources is used.
Final energy consumption of biofuels, petrol and diesel, and electricity for transport are measured in kilotonnes of oil equivalent (ktoe). The decision to use ktoe as the main calculation unit was made because of the choice of reporting units in the Template for Member State progress reports under Directive 2009/28/EC.
In April 2009, Directive 2009/30/EC was adopted, which revised the Fuel Quality Directive [Directive 98/70/EC]. It amends a number of elements of petrol and diesel specifications, as well as introducing, in Article 7a, a requirement that fuel suppliers reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of energy supplied for road transport (Low Carbon Fuel Standard). Fuel suppliers must reduce emissions by 6-10 % by 2020 (relative to 2010 fossil fuels). In addition, the Directive establishes sustainability criteria that must be met by biofuels if they are to count towards the greenhouse gas intensity reduction obligation.
The EU Biofuels Directive has created a legislative framework in EU Member States and has therefore triggered rapid market availability of biofuels. In 2010, the share of biofuels in the EU-28 was 5.2 % of all petrol and diesel sold for transport purposes. This was still somewhat below the original 5.75 % policy objective, under Directive 2003/30/EC, to be achieved by the end of 2010. These targets were subsequently revised following the adoption of Directive 2009/28/EC — which was subsequently amended in 2013 and again in 2015 — on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (repealing two previous Directives). The revision sees the share of renewable energy to be used in transport rising to a minimum of 10 % in every Member State by 2020. The new directive on renewable energy also aims to ensure that only sustainable biofuels that generate a clear and net greenhouse gas saving and have no negative impact on biodiversity and land use are used in the EU. Only biofuels that comply with the sustainability criteria under the Renewable Energy Directive are to be counted towards this target and, therefore, proper monitoring is only possible from 2010. In addition, to stimulate the growth of certain shares of renewable energy sources in transport, renewable electricity in electric road vehicles is considered to be 2.5 times the energy content of the electricity input from renewable energy sources. Similarly, the contribution of biofuels produced from wastes, residues, non-food cellulosic material, and ligno-cellulosic material is considered to be twice that of other biofuels. Nevertheless, the 10 % target is expected to be met primarily through biofuels. Also, each Member State shall seek to achieve a minimum level of biofuel consumption, taking effect from April 2017. A reference value for this target is a 0.5 percentage point growth in the share of energy from renewable sources in all forms of transport by 2020, to be met with biofuels produced in feedstocks and other fuels listed in part A of Annex IX.
Member States are required to report to the Commission annually on:
The RED (2009/28/EC) set a target for all Member States of a 10 % share of renewable energy in transport by 2020.
On 14 June 2018, the Commission, the Parliament and the Council reached a political agreement for which Member states must require fuel suppliers to supply a minimum of 14 % of the energy consumed in road and rail transport by 2030 as renewable energy. In addition, the share of advanced biofuels and biogas must be at least 1 % in 2025 and at least 3.5 % in 2030.
The White Paper (EC, 2011) provides objectives for decarbonising transport fuels in aviation and shipping: 'Low carbon sustainable fuels in aviation to reach 40 % by 2050; also by 2050 reduce emissions from maritime bunker fuels by 40 % (if feasible 50 %) compared to 2005 levels.' In both sectors, it is anticipated that the majority of these targets would need to be met through the utilisation of sustainable biofuels.
The share of renewable energy sources in transport is calculated by dividing renewable energy consumption by total energy consumption, including that of petrol and diesel.
The ratio determining a Member State’s RES-T share is defined in Article 3 (4) of the RES Directive. To calculate the denominator of the ratio, the consumption of petrol and diesel for transport, biofuels used in road and rail transport, and electricity used in any mode of transport are taken into account. For the numerator, compliant biofuels (liquid and gaseous) used in all modes of transport, and employing the respective multipliers where applicable (2x renewable electricity in transport and 2.5x for road transport as defined in Article 21(2)), plus hydrogen of renewable origin in all modes of transport and other forms of renewable energy consumed in the transport sector are also taken into account.
No gap-filling is applied.
No uncertainty has been specified.
The data are collected on an annual basis by the European Commission and can be considered reliable and accurate. The requirement for data collection for low- and zero-sulphur fuels and biofuels is mandatory, and the results are harmonised at the EU level.
No uncertainty has been specified.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/use-of-cleaner-and-alternative-fuels/use-of-cleaner-and-alternative-7 or scan the QR code.
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